Halloween Countdown: 29 Days - 3 DIY Halloween Luminaries Ideas

There is something special in Halloween luminaries. Whether they are funny or scary, they are an essential part of the holiday. I can not imagine October without luminaries on the dining table, in the living room or by the window. I’ll show you a few simple examples of Halloween luminaries made ​​from different materials. 

1. Glass jar luminaries

They’re pretty quick to make and the supplies are all really cheap. You’ll be reusing old glass jars and paper. Read more...

2. Spooky black luminaries

They cast a fun shadow when lit and look eerie even when they are no flames inside. The best part is that they are completely customizable... you could do different shapes, colors, or even words. Read more...

3. Cardboard haunted house

Because this luminaries are made from cardboard, use only battery-operated LED flameless tealight candles, not real flame candles. Read more...

Happy Crafting!

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Halloween Countdown: 30 days - 3 DIY Creepy Trees

We all love Halloween and it is going to be here before you know it! Decorate your place with these three easy and inex­pen­sive DIY Hal­loween Tree Crafts.

1. Halloween Tree Centerpiece

How fabulous is this?! We think it would work great as a centerpiece for your classroom Halloween party, or even as a cutesy decoration to set out on your desk or windowsill for the holiday season! See the tutorial here

2. Spooky Tree with Ghosts and Bats

A printable bat template and printable ghosts to make a creepy Halloween decoration. Read More

3. DIY Wire Tree

So pretty and so simple. If you are going to make this Halloween tree you can use anything you like to decorate it. See the tutorial here

Happy Crafting!

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You Voted: Handmade or Factory-Made Products?

This is a question that has crossed all of our minds at some point and the decision is not always obvious or easy to make.

Last week we conducted a poll on our forum, asking you what products do you prefer and the clear winner is: Handmade!

Award Skills & Craftmanship

You clearly opted for handmade products and that says a lot. Handmade items have a deeper meaning; by buying something that is not machine- mass manufactured you directly support the artist who created the item awarding his skills and craftsmanship, some things that are not present in the world of large scale manufacturing.

Of course no one can deny that handmade items are somewhat more expensive than a similar mass produced item, but the quality of the finished product is much higher and don’t forget a handmade product is always unique - even if the crafter makes a whole line of same items!

Make Us Better

We live in a fast selling and buying world with huge malls and shops and we are “encouraged” to be consumers and not producers. This way we forget the connections we have to the real source of our goods: the human source. Shouldn’t we be more interested in the source of the things we buy? Knowing who made something and where it came from, adds value both to the product and the buyer! -so next time you want to buy something, think twice ;)

Cost vs Satisfaction

As we said the handmade items are more expensive but don’t forget another factor that comes into play especially after the buy is made: the satisfaction. In the last paragraph you saw that a handmade product adds value not only to the item but to the buyer too. Handmade items come with a story even if that story is not the most mysterious or romantic, they do have one and knowing its place of origins and what the crafter had in mind when he made it, will give you a much deeper satisfaction after the purchase than any other mass manufactured item.

Obviously, don’t get me wrong, we can’t always buy handmade products: be the price, be the convenience of the mass production...but every time you have that little bit of extra time, that little bit of inner inspiration, opt for a handmade product and you will see how a much more rewarding experience it is, for you and the crafter!

So for now: keep calm and enjoy MISI

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Halloween Countdown: 31 days - 4 Creative Pumpkin Crafts

Make your home or party extra spooky with these Halloween craft ideas for cards, garlands, treat bags, costumes and more.

1. Paper Pumpkins
Orange pumpkins are great but these multi-hued paper pumkpins mix and match with your decor. This easy halloween craft can be put together in minutes starting with strips of scrapbook paper. Read More

2. Fence-Post Pumpkins

Save yourself the hassle of carving a pumpkin each Halloween by creating your own fence-post pumpkins. Read More

3. Kitty Pumpkin 
If you want this adorable pumpkin craft to last more than one season, consider using  faux pumpkin. They're sturdy yet easy to carve and look just like the real thing. Read More

4. Glitter Pumpkins

Transform these ugly plastic pumpkins into gorgeous Glitter Pumpkins. Read More

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Wooden Toys for Kids

Every day I seem to come across another won­der­ful hand­made toy, and I swear that it’s love at first sight. My secret pin­boards are fill­ing up fast, my wish­lists are get­ting longer, and I just keep on find­ing more and more. As you can tell, I’m pas­sion­ate about children’s design. I think it’s time to share the love. I hope you’ll enjoy this small selec­tion of unusual wooden toy finds. I, for one, am head over heels!

Wood Mood Blocks

If you love archi­tec­ture, inte­rior design, and sim­ple, orig­i­nal DIYs for babies and kids, you need to fol­low La Mai­son de Loulou. Marie­Laure’s blog is full of fresh ideas, always beau­ti­fully pre­sented in French and Eng­lish. This lat­est wooden toy pro­to­type looks gorgeous!

Spinifex Clus­ter Blocks by Sebas­t­ian Kalies

Dis­cov­ered via the Ger­man children’s design por­tal afilii, this mini set of 34 inter­lock­ing wooden blocks caught my architecture­loving son’s eye recently. Sim­ple and sturdy, this con­ struc­tion kit can be used to build toys, sculp­tures, or fur­ni­ture. I wouldn’t mind a set for my office too!

Hand­made Wooden Toys

Israeli designer David Budzik hand­crafts every sin­gle one of his wooden toys with love. Each piece is unique and cer­tainly very orig­i­nal. Why not start a quirky col­lec­tion for a kid’s space; they’re fun.

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DIY Ideas For Each Wall of Your Home

Have a bare wall in your house? Don’t succumb to wallpaper! The blank space is the perfect canvass for some DIY wall art and a great way to show off your creativity and crafting skills.

From Yarn art to a Giant Button, we've got something for every room of your house!

1. Living Room

DIY Nail & Yarn Wall Art: All you need to do is write down something you really love, grab your hammer, nails, and some pretty yarn, and make merry work of it! Hammering that many tiny nails into your wall is not for the faint of heart (or most renters), but I think the rewards for bravery are well worth it.

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2. Bedroom

DIY Headboard With LEDs: Mood lights always help to create romantic ambiance in a bedroom. That’s why it’s a good idea to put them into a headboard. You can make it as large as you want and paint to match your decor.

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3. Kitchen

Wipe Off Weekly Menu Board: If you are a meal planner, but you usually forget what you planned for, put together this super easy wipe-off menu board to keep track of what’s for dinner each night! 

The best part about this project is that it is SO easy to change the paper if you decide to change your decor, or if you just get tired of it. So you’ll really use it for years to come!

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4. Bathroom

DIY Chalkboard Door: When it comes to redecorating the bathroom, a little elbow grease can save a ton of cash.

Everyday objects can become focal points in your bathroom if you look at them with an artist's eye.

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5. Kids Room

Handpainted Tree: If you love contemporary and modern design, then this project is perfect for the kids room. It is neutral with simple lines, but  playful and girly.

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6. Craft Room

Giant Button Wall Art: 

Made with a large wooden circle, this simple DIY decor project is perfect for adding a splash of color to a small corner of your 

craft room.

You could even use a variety of circles to create a whole wall of adorable colored buttons! 

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7. Playroom

Scrabble Magnet Board: Magnetize a Scrabble board and the pieces. Display it and play day in and day out with another word-loving friends.

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Happy Crafting!

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Prepare Your Halloween Decorations

Halloween is coming and it is time to start the preparation of interesting decorations for the interior. This is a holiday that gives you the chance to take full advantage of your creativity. Whether it is a small table top decorations or chandeliers, you can do it quickly and with minimal cost.

Here are five interesting designs that can give you the inspiration to decorate your living room:

 1. Jack-o-lantern Chandelier Shade Covers 

 This is very attractive decoration and really inexpensive. You'll need is: craft paper, scissors, exacto knife, orange scrapbook paper and double sided scotch tape. .. Read More

 2. Halloween candle craft 

Decorate super adorable Halloween candles in just minutes .. Read More

 3. Felt Leaf Garland 

 Create a colorful felt leaf garland .. Read more

 4. Glitter Sphero Pumpkin Design 

Add a little bit of shine to this dark holiday by creating glam pumpkins .. Read more

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DIY Glow Jars Tutorial

Great Idea, isn’t it?

You can make them in 2 minutes and they are really cheap!

Use them instead of candles, on tables, walkaways, or just place them all over the house.

DIY Glow Jars Tutorial

For each glow jar you will need:

• a jar
• two Glow Sticks
• scissors
• rubber gloves
• safety glasses

Grab two glow sticks and cut at one end. Make sure they are inside the jar when you cut them. Remeber to use rubber gloves because the liquid will get on your hands.

Shake each glow stick while holding inside jar until contents are empty. You will notice little pieces of what looks like plastic along with the liquid. It is actually some kind of glass, so be careful. You will dump these out later. You can mix and match different liquid colours. Add more if you want more glow but dont use too much because it won’t look nice.

Swirl liquid around the jar and dump out the little pieces of plastic.

That’s it. You’re done! Go and find a dark place and enjoy the glow! ( glow duration: about 1 hour - depends on the glow stick liquid  )

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School Crafting – With Kids it is more fun

If you teach preschool, work with small children, or have little crafters at home, these fun monster crafts are a perfect project. For this project, kids will love creating the monster version of themselves. We had so much fun, we couldn’t stop. We had to make a monster version of each person in our family!

If you can’t tell, Dad is on the far left with the groovy mustache, followed by Mom with the goofy tongue, Miss Priss is in the middle with her mandatory “poofy skirt,” Little Buddy with the crazy eyes, and Sweet Baby with her binkie on the end.  That’s pretty much our family monsterized!

This is a pretty simple craft, but it younger children will require some assistance.  You’ll need a few fun craft supplies. My kit below came with plenty of paint, brushes, pipe cleaners, foam sheets, construction paper, scissors, markers,  and the ever favorite…googly eyes!

Really, imagination is the key with this craft. Start by wrapping a foam sheet or half sheet of construction paper around your juice box.  Use hot glue to secure the seams.

Then unleash your creativity together.  It’s nice to have a small mirror for kids to look at as they try to recreate themselves as monsters.

What kind of monsters would your family be?  Have fun crafting!

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You Voted - Best Pattern Combination: Floral & Stripes

Mixing prints can be a somewhat tricky trend, which often result in wrong combinations that don't look that good. This is why most people say they'd never do it. But seriously, it can look amazing if done correctly!

We conducted a poll on our forum about your favorite pattern combination between the following print mixes: Stripes & Floral, Geometric & Chevron, Animal Print & Polka Dots and Checks & Stripes.. And the winner is .. Stripes & Floral Combination!

So we are giving you some tips on how to update your look and combine together the two of the hottest trends of 2013.

1. Keep it in the same color palette.

The key to mixing stripes and floral prints is to keep them in the same color palette. Pull colors from your floral print and pair it with an striped item with one or two of those colors.

2. Space the patterns out

There is no need to wear a patterned skirt with a patterned jacket, or top. Sometimes mixing a top or skirt with patterned shoes can create an ultimate chic style.

3. Use accessories wisely

Accessories can balance an outfit. Using a belt to break up two different patterned pieces can work really well, as can colored shoes or a neutral purse. Just be careful not to overdo it, because the focus of the outfit is the pattern, not the accessories.

4. Be yourself

Remember there are so many styles to find and wear - if one thing doesn't suit you then another will and if you want to try something different, you can.

If you have some extra tips you'd like to share, please write them in the comments below.

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